


Save Me

by secretsofthesky



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Abuse, Alternate Universe, Angst, Mention of Assault, Northside Jughead Jones, Southside Betty, kind of enemies to friends to lovers, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:54:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23948746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsofthesky/pseuds/secretsofthesky
Summary: She wondered what Monday morning would bring when they’d make eye contact across the room. She wondered if anything would be different? Probably not, she figured, but even now, as the cold hit her face and she made the long trek back to the Southside, something had changed.She was no longer alone.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 30
Kudos: 91





	Save Me

* * *

Betty smoothed her damp hair back into a ponytail and lifted her heavy bag over her shoulder. She glanced at the clock on the wall above the lockers to see that it was well past six now - meaning the school should finally be empty, allowing her to leave undetected.

If anyone knew she used the girl’s locker rooms to shower during the week - she could only imagine what they would say, how it would look. She received enough taunts about being a Southsider already and knew it would only give them more ammunition. She could practically already hear the jabs about being so poor that she didn’t have running water so she had to shower at school _or_ , if the more popular girls found out, they’d probably twist it to say she was turning tricks in the showers.

If only they knew the real reason.

Though they probably wouldn’t care anyway.

She’d learned that quickly after transferring to Riverdale that her mother had quite the reputation with the married fathers of her peers… a reputation that Betty, unfortunately, became associated with automatically. She’d barely spoken to anyone, hadn’t even had the chance to make any friends before the word **_whore_** was written across her locker that first week.

And it had only gone downhill since.

“One more year,” she whispered to herself, grabbing her leather jacket and making her way to the doors that led to the gymnasium. One more year and she could leave this place and the Southside far behind and never, _ever_ look back.

The unmistakable squeak of sneakers on the gym floor had her freezing and quietly moving to peer through the gap between the two large doors she had just been about to burst through.

A flash of dark hair and a long body appeared for a second before disappearing again, the sound of rubber against wood screeching even louder.

She pushed the door open a bit more, just enough to see better but remain hidden, and then jumped as a voice boomed off of the walls.

“Faster! Goddammit, faster!”

Betty’s eyes moved to the other end of the gym where FP Jones stood, watching his son run back and forth across the floor. Jughead, who was already moving faster than she’d seen anyone move in her life, grit his teeth and pounded his feet harder, sweat dripping from his dark hair as he pushed it out of his face.

“You call this effort?!”

Betty tore her eyes from Jughead to look at his father again. She’d never met the man, but she’d seen him around. Of course, she’d heard about him from her mother as well; the Southside boy who thought he was too good for his friends and family, who had played the role of a jock Northsider until he’d been given a scholarship to play ball at a state college. He’d made it pro until an injury had him coming back to Riverdale and using his fortune to open a string of businesses instead.

Betty watched as Jughead dropped to his knees, his hands fisting against the floor as he fought to breathe. He lifted his head to look at his father, eyes narrowed as the other man let out a string of insults before he slowly stood back up to meet his approach.

“I hold the fastest time in the state-” His voice was defiant, but she heard the pleading note underneath the stone.

FP laughed, and the sound sent chills down Betty’s spine. “I don’t give a fuck. It’s not good enough.”

Jughead’s head bowed, and while his words were barely a whisper, Betty still heard them. “Nothing is ever good enough for you.”

FP must have heard too because in a second, he was chest to chest with his son, his hand gripping the sides of his face roughly. “What’d you say to me boy?”

Her blood pounded in her ears. She’d witnessed her share of violence, experienced it first hand, but to see the golden boy of her school on the receiving end, a boy who acted as if his life was perfect, shook her in a way she never expected. He had so many friends, so many people who adored him, and she wondered if any of them knew about this.

“Nothing.”

Her eyes flew back to Jughead as he glared at his father.

FP let go of his son's face roughly, causing the boy the take a step backward from the force. “It better have been nothing.”

“Yes, sir.” Jughead stood straighter, his hands fisted at his sides, his arm muscles taut, looking ready to fight.

FP chuckled as he looked his son over. “You want to hit me, boy?” He took a step close to him, getting right in his face again. Jughead was tall, built, but his father was still bigger. _Meaner_. “Do it, I dare you.”

Jughead stood still, his gaze unwavering on his fathers, refusing to shy away. Betty knew that look - knew the hatred and pain it held and even though his father had him beat in size, she knew that if Jughead really wanted to, with _that_ emotion, he’d lay him out.

“That’s what I thought,” FP chuckled, his eyes taunting as he stepped away and reached in his pocket for his phone. “Keep running. I don’t want to see you home until nine.”

“I have homework…” Jughead started but then a hand was flying through the air, the back of it connecting with the side of his face and cutting off what he was about to say.

Betty’s knuckles were white on the handle she held, her breathing coming in ragged gasps as she stared at the boy now laying on the gym floor, his hand on the side of his face. Just earlier in the cafeteria, he had stood out so big among the other students, sporting his letterman jacket and cradling a football as he made the group that was congregated around him laugh. He _always_ seemed so much bigger than everyone around him. Now he looked so small - and the image had her stomach dropping.

“I said to keep running,” FP repeated before turning and exiting out the back gym door that led to the parking lot.

Several minutes passed until Betty’s heart finally fell back into its normal rhythm as she watched him, still on the floor, knees up and head hanging between them.

When he still didn’t move after another few moments, she glanced over at the doors that led out of the gym and figured if she was quiet enough, she might be able to make it without him detecting her. She knew she couldn’t wait around any longer - that walking home after the sun set was a risk she couldn’t take. Hugging her jacket and bag close, she slowly opened the door and slipped out, tiptoeing across the shiny floor, but the bottoms of her converse connected the wrong way with her next step and sent a high pitched noise echoing off the walls.

“What the hell?”

Betty’s held in a gasp as her wide eyes connected with an angry dark pair. 

Jughead slowly stood from the floor, his eyes dragging over her before looking over to the locker room doors she had just come from.

“How long have you been here?”

His voice was deeper than she’d ever heard it, moving over her and leaving goosebumps dancing across her skin. 

They’d gone to the same school for three years now, shared classes and glances that she sometimes thought she’d only imagined, but this was the first time they’d ever spoken to each other. The star quarterback generally never lowered himself to speak to Southside scum.

“I was just leaving,” Betty told him, turning to the door again but a second later a hand on her arm had her spinning. It wasn’t rough, just firm enough to stop her before it fell back to his side.

“What did you see?” His voice was pained. She could sense the worry underneath and it surprised her. She would have expected anger, but not this.

Betty looked away across the gym to where his father had been before meeting his eyes. Eyes that knew she had seen it all. “I won’t say anything.”

Jughead chuckled then, though the sound held no amusement. “Yeah, sure you won’t.” Sarcasm laced his words as he paced away from her, running a hand through his hair. He was quiet another moment, facing away as if deciding what to do before turning to her again, his eyes tracing over her slowly before landing on her own damp hair and narrowing. “Were you _showering_?”

Betty gripped her bag and jacket tighter, her heart pounding so loud she was surprised it wasn’t echoing off the walls. “What does it matter?”

Jughead didn’t move his eyes from her, just continued to search her face, staring at her so intently as if he was trying to read her mind. Finally, a look of defeat fell over his face as he closed his eyes and turned away. “Fuck it. I don’t even care if you tell. Maybe he’ll get so mad he’ll mess my hand up and I won’t have to do this shit anymore.”

His words were like a knife stabbing straight into her chest. She knew what it was like to be in a situation so bad that you wouldn’t mind something even more awful happening as long as it meant you’d be free. 

She never thought for a second anyone in this perfect school had it as bad as her. Now though, she realized at least one did, and he just played a role and used a facade to hide it. 

“Congrats, Betty. You now have something on me that no one else knows. What are you going to do with it?”

He knew her name, was her first thought, even as her anger built with the rest of his words. “Nothing.”

Jughead looked away, dejected. “Yeah, sure,” 

Betty glared, hating that he was doubting her, hating that he thought she was going to use his abusive father as ammunition against him, hating that he thought she was _that_ kind of person and turned to leave. But even as her hand touched the cool metal of the doorknob, knowing she should just push it and go and not look back - she was stilling, her heart forcing her to turn back around. 

“My mom brings a lot of guys home.” She ignored the way her voice sounded so empty as it echoed off the walls and back to her. “A lot of really bad guys who like to walk in on me in the bathroom on _accident_.” His eyes flew to hers and she had to look away, emotion clogging her throat as the words she'd never spoken aloud to anyone fell from her lips. “So I shower here because I don’t dare do it there anymore. It’s not safe.”

The large room was silent except their labored breathing and a few moments passed before Betty finally found the strength to lift her eyes from her shoes, meeting the darker pair that were still watching her. She expected to find pity filling their depths but was surprised to find them swirling with understanding instead.

“There you go, Jughead.” Saying his name felt so odd. “Now you have a secret of mine, too.”

She moved to leave but his ragged voice stopped her. “Betty I…” she turned to watch him as he searched for what to say, looking as lost as she felt. “If you talk to the school counselor, maybe they can help.”

It was her turn to chuckle, the sound bitter. “I could say the same to you.”

Jughead took a deep breath and nodded, sticking his hands in the pockets of his sweats as he watched her.

They both knew neither of them ever would.

With one more look, Betty turned the handle and walked out, making her way down the hall, past the display cases featuring pictures of a smiling quarterback holding up a football. A smile she now knew was fake.

She wondered what Monday morning would bring when they’d make eye contact across the room. She wondered if anything would be different? Probably not, she figured, but even now, as the cold hit her face and she made the long trek back to the Southside, something had changed.

She was no longer alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Find me on tumblr @secretsofthesky


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